Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire - Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry. Nuclear Activities
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
How China Is Quietly Dominating the Global Car Market - Bloomberg
How China Is Quietly Dominating the Global Car Market - Bloomberg: The US Hasn’t Noticed That China-Made Cars Are Taking Over the World
The country is poised to become the No. 2 exporter of passenger vehicles, surpassing the US and South Korea and risking new tensions with trading partners and rivals.
Japan lifts operational ban on world's biggest nuclear plant | Reuters
Japan lifts operational ban on world's biggest nuclear plant | Reuters: Japan's nuclear power regulator on Wednesday lifted an operational ban imposed on Tokyo Electric Power's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant two years ago, allowing it to work towards gaining local permission to restart.
Why Oil Traders Shouldn’t Discard Israel-Hamas War Risk | OilPrice.com
Why Oil Traders Shouldn’t Discard Israel-Hamas War Risk | OilPrice.com: The Red Sea, and specifically the Bab-el-Mandeb strait has become a risky chokepoint for Western vessels, and traders should not yet discard the risks for oil supply
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Breakthrough Institute 2023 Annual Report | The Breakthrough Institute
Breakthrough Institute 2023 Annual Report | The Breakthrough Institute
The folllowing is a letter from Breakthrough Institute's Executive Director, Ted Nordhaus, reflecting on 2023. At the bottom of this page you can find a link to Breakthrough's 2023 Annual Report.
On Conflict and Progress
This year at the Breakthrough Institute brought a fair amount of controversy, even for a place that has never shied away from it. In April, Breakthrough’s Ashley Nunes and I published a widely read essay in theWall Street Journal’s Week in Review section expressing skepticism that mass adoption of electric vehicles was as close at hand as many environmentalists and progressive Democrats believe. In June, we were the first, and one of the few, pro-nuclear organizations to publicly oppose the confirmation of Jeff Baran, a long-time obstructionist commissioner, to a third five-year term on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In July, Alex Trembath and I published a long essay on the risks of technocratic hubris in the wake of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. And in August, Breakthrough’s Patrick Brown published a widely covered peer-reviewed paper in Nature and follow-up essay in The Free Press that sparked a global debate about publication bias in the climate science literature.
Each of these episodes was polarizing—even for some of our friends, funders, and allies. Discomforting as this was, we were not surprised: paradoxically, disrupting deeply polarized debates around climate change, clean energy, and food and agriculture is itself polarizing and frequently requires challenging strongly held views about the nature of climate risk, the pace of technological change, and the role of government in addressing the former and driving the latter. Explicitly and unapologetically defending a science-based, non-apocalyptic view of climate risk and the human future, a meliorist view of technology, and a skeptical view that technological change can primarily be achieved via regulatory fiat or that emissions reductions can be driven by behavioral change is not for the faint of heart!
But over the long term, that controversial work has consistently held up, whether it related to the central role that public investment in technology, innovation, and infrastructure would play in climate mitigation efforts; the need for nuclear energy and intensive, technological agriculture; or the limitations of renewable energy and organic farming. Already, the same is proving true of this year’s controversies.
Six months after we sounded the alarm, automakers are slashing prices and scaling back their electric vehicle production plans, as demand has softened and inventories have risen. Barely a year into the Inflation Reduction Act, rising costs and regulatory barriers have sidetracked efforts to rapidly scale up clean technology and infrastructure. New projections for global emissions, meanwhile, increasingly show strong divergence from the high emissions and warming scenarios that the most widely cited climate impacts literature in high-profile publications like Nature is largely predicated upon. And our willingness to take a controversial stand on the Baran renomination appears to have killed it for the moment and has significantly improved the prospects for significant regulatory reform at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Simply being right, of course, is not enough. With the gap between the Biden administration’s climate ambitions and what it can deliver with traditional clean energy subsidies and environmental regulations growing and public sentiment turning sharply against many of its energy policy priorities, there is going to be a need to chart a different course on nuclear, permitting, electric vehicles, and the power sector. With a growing office in Washington, DC, we are now better positioned than ever to offer not only vision and leadership in that endeavor but the policy details as well.
Deconstructing conventional environmental politics must always be in service of reconstructing an alternative framework and agenda. We remain committed to de-escalating the climate culture wars, to championing quiet climate policy that charts a non-millenarian course of action, and to building a new politics of abundance in place of limits-based environmentalism and technocratic progressivism. Doing that will frequently invite controversy and reaction. But we continue to believe that, over the long term, being willing to do so is the key to building a successful ecological politics capable of making a future that is better for people and nature a reality.
INFOGRAPHIC: Climate Scientists’ Credibility Hurt | The Epoch Times
INFOGRAPHIC: Climate Scientists’ Credibility Hurt | The Epoch Times: As climate experts warn of looming catastrophe, faulty past forecasts hurt their message.
Monday, December 25, 2023
A year of green gaslighting - spiked
A year of green gaslighting - spiked: 2023 proved that the war on cars is no conspiracy theory.
Sunday, December 24, 2023
US Officials Turned Regime Change Tactics Developed Abroad Against Trump, Evidence Suggests
US Officials Turned Regime Change Tactics Developed Abroad Against Trump, Evidence Suggests: US intelligence and security agencies appear to have used the “color revolution” playbook, including “lawfare” and street protests
Nuclear power: The USA wants to build a different type of reactor - Breaking Latest News
Nuclear power: The USA wants to build a different type of reactor - Breaking Latest News: Molten salts are used as a coolant at the CEA Cadarache nuclear research center in France. Nicolas…
Nuclear power's future opposed by some progressive groups | National News | kpvi.com
Nuclear power's future opposed by some progressive groups | National News | kpvi.com: (The Center Square) - One nuclear power plant can produce the same amount of electricity as 2,077 wind turbines. And some of the larger wind turbines are taller than the
Saturday, December 23, 2023
Is Nuclear Energy the Answer? It Depends on the Risk Threshold - Lexology
Is Nuclear Energy the Answer? It Depends on the Risk Threshold - Lexology: At the recently concluded U.N. Climate conference in Dubai (COP28), world leaders boldly announced a 22-nation, multilateral commitment to triple the…
Will SMRs Launch a Nuclear Power Bull Market? - Energy Investing with Energy and Capital | Energy Stocks
Will SMRs Launch a Nuclear Power Bull Market? - Energy Investing with Energy and Capital | Energy Stocks: Nuclear power is safe. People, however, are not. And this, dear reader, is why there’s always been so much concern about expanding America’s fleet of nuclear power plants.
PG&E demonstrates use of drones as company shifts to technology to inspect power pole issues – KION546
PG&E demonstrates use of drones as company shifts to technology to inspect power pole issues – KION546: SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Tonight a behind the scenes look at how PG&E is using drones in its efforts to inspect faulty power poles Chief Photographer Calista Silva gives us a look in the video story you can watch by clicking "play" in the video above.
DOE seeks public input on Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation - Daily Energy Insider
DOE seeks public input on Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation - Daily Energy Insider: After creating its first agency-related foundation – the Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation (FESI) – the United States Department of Energy (DOE) released a Request for Information (RFI) this week seeking input on how ... Read More »
Steven Koonin: Separating Climate Science from Propaganda | Ep. 22: Multimedia: The Independent Institute
Steven Koonin: Separating Climate Science from Propaganda | Ep. 22: Multimedia: The Independent Institute: Dr. Atlas interviews Professor Steven Koonin of NYU. Koonin served as Undersecretary for Science in the Department of Energy from 2009 to 2011 and was a professor at Cal Tech for nearly 30 years where he served as Vice President and Provost. They have a fascinating conversation about the science on climate change and the general state of science, as climate and energy have become so prominent in the media and public policy debates.
EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Ernst Is Pulling The Plug On Biden’s Electric Vehicle Charging Initiative | The Daily Caller
EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Ernst Is Pulling The Plug On Biden’s Electric Vehicle Charging Initiative | The Daily Caller: Sen. Joni Ernst is planning on introducing legislation that would terminate President Joe Biden's $7.5 billion programs to subsidize EV chargers.
Dem Lawmakers Want To Earmark $1,000,000 For Activists To Build ‘Environmental Justice’ Center | The Daily Caller
Dem Lawmakers Want To Earmark $1,000,000 For Activists To Build ‘Environmental Justice’ Center | The Daily Caller: Democratic senators want to earmark $1 million to help a politically-connected environmentalist organization build an "environmental justice" center.
Friday, December 22, 2023
Britain's Need to Sort Nuclear Energy Financing Is Getting Urgent - Bloomberg
Britain's Need to Sort Nuclear Energy Financing Is Getting Urgent - Bloomberg: An emerging supply gap may end up being filled with dirtier fuels unless the government can get more reactors built.
House reps urge 'swift' review of loan to restart Michigan nuclear plant
House reps urge 'swift' review of loan to restart Michigan nuclear plant: U.S. lawmakers want federal regulators to give "fair, full and swift" review of Holtec loan application to restart the Palisades Nuclear Plant.
If COP28 Keeps Its Word, It Leads To More Nuclear Energy
If COP28 Keeps Its Word, It Leads To More Nuclear Energy: If the global community triples its use of renewables and sends fossil fuels packing — per COP28 — then the natural extension is more nuclear energy.
Belarus 'could be a world leader in nuclear energy share' : Nuclear Policies - World Nuclear News
Belarus 'could be a world leader in nuclear energy share' : Nuclear Policies - World Nuclear News: Belarus is considering building a second nuclear power plant, or a third unit at its existing one, and could become one of the leading countries in terms of the proportion of its energy being nuclear-generated, Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich has said.
Sir Stephen Lovegrove to chair Rolls-Royce-led nuclear consortium | Rolls-Royce | The Guardian
Sir Stephen Lovegrove to chair Rolls-Royce-led nuclear consortium | Rolls-Royce | The Guardian: New role for former permanent secretary in energy department raises concerns over ‘revolving door’ between public and private
Crews Safely Complete Construction, Energization of 350 More Miles of Underground Powerlines in 2023 - PGE Currents
Crews Safely Complete Construction, Energization of 350 More Miles of Underground Powerlines in 2023 - PGE Currents: By Matt Nauman As of this week, PG&E has constructed and energized more than 600 miles of underground powerlines since its
Ukrainian, U.S. Nuclear Regulators Deepening Cooperation | MENAFN.COM
Ukrainian, U.S. Nuclear Regulators Deepening Cooperation | MENAFN.COM: The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine and the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC) signed a memorandum that provides f
Senators Markey and Warren Call for Strong Review of Proposed Changes to Emergency Response Capabilities at Seabrook Nuclear Power Station
Senators Markey and Warren Call for Strong Review of Proposed Changes to Emergency Response Capabilities at Seabrook Nuclear Power Station: Operator NextEra has proposed to move key emergency response capabilities 1,200 miles off-site, with...
Treasury proposes strict climate rules for lucrative hydrogen energy tax credit | The Hill
Treasury proposes strict climate rules for lucrative hydrogen energy tax credit | The Hill: Producers of hydrogen energy would have to comply with strict climate rules to qualify for a lucrative tax credit under new proposed guidelines from the Treasury Department. The Biden administration and climate advocates say these guidelines would ensure the nascent power source develops in a sustainable way rather than becoming a significant contributor to global…
Our Disappearing Shoreline
Our Disappearing Shoreline: How long will it take to move Miami or New York? Forever, if the planning never starts.
Thursday, December 21, 2023
The US wants to build a different kind of nuclear reactor from a decades-old concept that could power ships and other off-the-grid locations
The US wants to build a different kind of nuclear reactor from a decades-old concept that could power ships and other off-the-grid locations: Most nuclear reactors use water as a coolant. Molten-salt reactors use salts with higher boiling points. Kairos Power is set to build the US's first in decades.
Nuclear plant near Richland begins new 20-year operation | Tacoma News Tribune
Nuclear plant near Richland begins new 20-year operation | Tacoma News Tribune: Nuke plant north of Richland licensed to 2043.
Nuclear plant near Richland begins new 20-year operation | Tri-City Herald
Nuclear plant near Richland begins new 20-year operation | Tri-City Herald: Nuke plant north of Richland licensed to 2043.
Suddenly, US electricity demand is spiking. Can the… | Canary Media
Suddenly, US electricity demand is spiking. Can the… | Canary Media: Data centers, factories, heat pumps and EVs are putting increasing stress on a grid that isn’t growing fast enough, new data shows.
If COP28 Keeps Its Word, It Leads To More Nuclear Energy
If COP28 Keeps Its Word, It Leads To More Nuclear Energy: If the global community triples its use of renewables and sends fossil fuels packing — per COP28 — then the natural extension is more nuclear energy.
JET retires - after 40 years and 105,929 pulses : Other News - World Nuclear News
JET retires - after 40 years and 105,929 pulses : Other News - World Nuclear News: The pioneering Joint European Torus has performed its final fusion research experiments just over four decades after it delivered its first pulse on 25 June 1983.
Final Report SJR79_11.17.23.pdf
Final Report SJR79_11.17.23.pdf
1
Report to the Kentucky Legislative Research
Commission Pursuant to 2023RS SJR 79
Submitted by: Kentucky Office of Energy
Policy
Energy Secretary Says TVA is “Leading on Small Modular Reactors” | American Public Power Association
Energy Secretary Says TVA is “Leading on Small Modular Reactors” | American Public Power Association: U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently said that the Tennessee Valley Authority is “leading on small modular reactors” with its SMR project at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
At COP28, More Than 20 Nations Pledge to Triple Nuclear Capacity - The New York Times
At COP28, More Than 20 Nations Pledge to Triple Nuclear Capacity - The New York Times: The group, including Britain, France and the United States, said the agreement was critical to meeting nations’ climate commitments.
Growing share of Americans favor more nuclear power | Pew Research Center
Growing share of Americans favor more nuclear power | Pew Research Center: A majority of Americans (57%) say they favor more nuclear power plants to generate electricity in the country, up from 43% who said this in 2020.
Take a Look at Nuclear Policy Across the Map
Take a Look at Nuclear Policy Across the Map: Many states are moving in the right direction and making long-term, strategic decisions about nuclear—the year hasn’t even finished!
600 Miles and Counting: PG&E Hits Significant Milestone as Crews Safely Complete Construction, Energization of 350 More Miles of Underground Powerlines in 2023
600 Miles and Counting: PG&E Hits Significant Milestone as Crews Safely Complete Construction, Energization of 350 More Miles of Underground Powerlines in 2023: /PRNewswire/ -- As of this week, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has constructed and energized more than 600 miles of underground powerlines since its...
France and Sweden plan nuclear cooperation : Nuclear Policies - World Nuclear News
France and Sweden plan nuclear cooperation : Nuclear Policies - World Nuclear News: France and Sweden have signed a declaration of intent to develop long-term cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.
Regulators approve deal to pay for Georgia Power's new nuclear reactors | AP News
Regulators approve deal to pay for Georgia Power's new nuclear reactors | AP News: Regulators have unanimously approved an additional 6% rate increase to pay for remaining costs at Georgia Power Co.’s Plant Vogtle.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Supreme Court to hear arguments on blocking EPA cross-state smog pollution rule | The Hill
Supreme Court to hear arguments on blocking EPA cross-state smog pollution rule | The Hill: The Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether to block an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that seeks to address interstate smog, the court said Wednesday. The court issued an order saying it would not yet decide whether to block the rule from being effective. Instead, it will hear oral arguments on the matter during…
PG&E Fire Victims Will Soon Receive Final Compensation. They Won’t Be Made Whole. - WSJ
PG&E Fire Victims Will Soon Receive Final Compensation. They Won’t Be Made Whole. - WSJ: PG&E Fire Victims Will Soon Receive Final Compensation. They Won’t Be Made Whole.
Victims of a series of California wildfires caused by the utility are owed $13.5 billion under a 2020 settlement, but that won’t cover all their claims
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Accepts PG&E's Diablo Canyon Power Plant License Renewal Application, Allows Both Units to Continue Operating Past Current Licenses
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Accepts PG&E's Diablo Canyon Power Plant License Renewal Application, Allows Both Units to Continue Operating Past Current Licenses: /PRNewswire/ -- The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) determined today that Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) License Renewal Application...
State regulators approve Diablo Canyon continued operation : Regulation & Safety - World Nuclear News
State regulators approve Diablo Canyon continued operation : Regulation & Safety - World Nuclear News: Californian regulators have agreed to extending the operations of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant for an additional five years, to 2030.
Why China, Not the United States, Is Making the Rules for Deep-Sea Mining - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Why China, Not the United States, Is Making the Rules for Deep-Sea Mining - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Why China, Not the United States, Is Making the Rules for Deep-Sea Mining
PG&E can keep operating Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant | San Luis Obispo Tribune
PG&E can keep operating Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant | San Luis Obispo Tribune: Next up, PG&E will move ahead with the multi-year license renewal process.
GAIN Vouchers Accelerate Seven Advanced Nuclear Firms | Neutron Bytes
GAIN Vouchers Accelerate Seven Advanced Nuclear Firms | Neutron Bytes: GAIN Vouchers Accelerate Seven Advanced Nuclear Firms NASA’s Gets PU-238 to Power Deep Space Missions Bulgaria Approves €766 Million For Two New Reactors at Kozloduy Ukraine Signs with Westin…
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
PG&E's DCPP license renewal application accepted by Nuclear Regulatory Commission | Seeking Alpha
PG&E's DCPP license renewal application accepted by Nuclear Regulatory Commission | Seeking Alpha: PG&E's DCPP license renewal application accepted by Nuclear Regulatory Commission
COP28 spotlights key climate battle: Saving Himalayan ice - Nikkei Asia
COP28 spotlights key climate battle: Saving Himalayan ice - Nikkei Asia: DUBAI -- Filmmaker and environmental activist Jamyang Jamtscho Wangchuk brought a bit of his beloved Himalayas to the COP28 climate summit in Dubai la
The Golden Age of Coal | RealClearPolicy
The Golden Age of Coal | RealClearPolicy: You wouldn’t know it from reading the newspapers, but that is what we are living in. The recently-concluded COP28 conference touted a coming end to the use of fossil fuels, with coal first in…
How Big Oil is Taking Us for a Fossil-Fuelized Ride - TomDispatch.com
How Big Oil is Taking Us for a Fossil-Fuelized Ride - TomDispatch.com
Juan Cole, Greenwashing the Planet
December 19, 2023
[Note to TomDispatch Readers: I’ve been moved by the generosity of so many of you in response to my recent all-too-desperate winter letter laying out the crisis this website faces, having lost a key source of its funding. Yet when it comes to contributions, in these days before I shut the site briefly for the end of the year, life here always means needing more and TD does indeed need more of your $$$ to get through 2024! As ever, should you decide to help us navigate another strange year on this endangered planet of ours, just go to our donation page and do your damnedest, knowing that I truly will be forever grateful. Tom]
Yes, "the world" just gathered in the United Arab Emirates, a major oil producer, to decide the fate of our planet. And among those attending COP28 were at least 1,300 fossil-fuel lobbyists (three times the number at the previous year's climate summit), and possibly as many as 2,500 of them, along with the Saudis, the U.S., and other oil-producing states. Oh, and don't forget those "at least 166 climate deniers and fossil fuel public relations professionals" that, according to the Guardian, were also lending a helping hand.
The lead-up to this climate summit was, of course, the hottest six straight months in human history. Still, those lobbyists, climate-change deniers, fossil-fuel company representatives, and oil, coal, and natural gas states represent a world in which fossil-fuel production is still expanding. Meanwhile, China, the largest user of coal on the planet, continues to build new coal-fired power plants at a record rate.
In the end, the climate conference agreed not to agree on "phasing out" fossil fuels but all too vaguely on “transitioning away" from them. That's more like deciding to phase down humanity. But perhaps John Silk, the minister of natural resources for the Marshall Islands, those atolls in the Pacific that are likely to be early victims of climate-change-driven rising sea levels, should have the last word in this introduction -- before the remarkable Juan Cole of the must-read Informed Comment website offers his views on just how Big Energy of every sort is greenwashing this planet. At COP28, Silk said, "The Republic of the Marshall Islands did not come here to sign our death warrant. What we have seen today is totally unacceptable. We will not go silently to our watery graves." Nor should the rest of us. Tom
Newly developed material gulps down hydrogen, spits it out, protects fusion reactor walls
Newly developed material gulps down hydrogen, spits it out, protects fusion reactor walls: The advance, detailed in a paper published recently in the journal Physica Scripta, could enable more efficient compact fusion reactors that are easier to repair and maintain.
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